Last week I spent 2-3 days in D.C. to see my SAIS friends and to tie up any loose ends with the school. I have decided to withdraw from SAIS to pursue an opportunity in Shanghai and will be moving back to China in a few weeks.
Quite frankly, the idea of spending another 1.5 semesters in D.C. hasn't been sitting well with me for awhile. I truly enjoy the subjects of Economics and International Relations, but this isn't undergraduate child's play anymore. We're in the big league, where you make a thoughtful choice to take 2+ years of productivity out our lives in pursuit of greater happiness... whether it be in the form of a better job, well-deserved holiday, another academic degree, of course it varies with each person.
What about me then? I'll be honest and say that I never would have thought of applying for SAIS if I didn't desperately need a pause button. I was lost and confused, and it seemed like the best way to defer further advancement into adulthood at the time. I always thought I was a MBA kind of girl, Wharton, HBS, one of those guys. But after Lehman all I wanted to do was enjoy a nice work-life balance, so I started to nurture another level of ambition (not money cash hos, but maybe power fame minions). I guess I went from one extreme to another, the first wanting to become a MD by the age of 30, the other wanting to become the U.S. Ambassador to China or something important in the government.
Then I did my research. I even got a summer job in the U.S. Department of State in their Guangzhou Consulate as an Economics-Political FSO intern. I went through the Top Secret clearance, passed, but for some reason got stopped by red tape. In the meantime, I read many books in the Hopkins-Nanjing Center's library that detailed lives of diplomats and other members of the foreign policy community. It dawned upon me that this job description didn't actually check many of my "must-have" boxes, and soon after this path lost its romance. The last thing I wanted to do is make yet another big U-turn in life, so I made a brutally honest evaluation of who I am and what really makes me tick.
I made the decision to formally withdraw from SAIS a week ago. I had been weighing the option of deferral, but with its extra fees all it would only be an expensive and unnecessary reassurance. I know I will miss out on so many amazing experiences (let's not start with the staff rides, happy hours, high-profile guest speakers please!), but I have to do what's best for me. I don't have anyone but myself, no rock... just hard reality.
I don't know when exactly I'll be flying back to Shanghai, but it will happen sometime this month. I am fully aware that this is a decisive step in life that will take me in another direction, so I'm taking the time to reconnect with all my loved ones before we lose grip on one another. I'm alone in China, but I don't want to wake up lonely one day. Hence, my D.C. trip to say goodbye to friends.
-----------------
Uhhhhh... so I'm a complete retard and left my memory card inserted in my laptop when I went to D.C. DOH!!! :( Image handicapped. These are pictures from Will's phone, surprisingly good quality (Samsung Galaxy). I'm sad because it was a beautiful day in D.C. and Dupont Circle was really very pleasant to wander through... but I guess some things are better left off the record, ha!
I want to thank all my friends in D.C. who came out to see me for lunch, dinner, drinks. :) You guys are brilliant and amazing, and I'm comforted by the fact that everyone is a travelholic... so that means I'll be expecting a lot of visitors in China!
Will and I make it to the famous Georgetown Cupcake shop!
We got Red Velvet and Banana Split. Check out the fudge center in the middle of the banana cake. Absolutely divine.
And this is Georgetown (where Will is getting his MBA)!
I crashed with the ever-so-lovely Marg[aret] for 3 nights.
LOVE YOU MOCHI.
Posts
0 comments:
Post a Comment